Wavy Hair Care 101

Starting on your wavy hair journey can feel…intimidating. And honestly, being in groups focused around curly hair can sometimes make it worse.

Truth is, wavy hair can flourish with proper care, and are so beautiful and versatile!

Here are 5 tips for how to take care of your wavy hair if you are just starting your wavy hair journey.

Oh, and as you read this, please remember, there is more to your hair texture than just wavy, curly, or coily. The below tips are general rules of thumb; however, you may need to tweak them based on your hair’s needs.

Alternate between clarifying and cowashing

Wavy hair tends to get oily faster than curly or coily hair. Really, it’s just because the natural oils our scalp produces can actually make its way down the hair shaft. This means you may need to wash a bit more frequently, and you may need to use a gentle shampoo about 1-2x a week.

If you find you need to cleanse in the shower in between shampoo washes, try using a co-wash. A co-wash feels like a conditioner, but also has ingredients to gently clean your hair. We love to use our Creamy Hair Cleanser in between shampoo sessions to very gently clean and exfoliate our scalp and hair with ingredients like apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, and jojoba beads.

Squish to condish

Squish to condish is one of the best ways to get moisture and hydration into your hair shaft for shiny, frizzless hair. What is it exactly? It’s basically adding conditioner to soaking wet hair and scrunching up until you hear that squish sound.

Hearing that squish sound is vital as it lets you know your hair is getting enough water and product.

Use a hard hold gel or a foam

Determining whether to use a hard hold gel or hair foam will vary depending on how wavy your hair is and your own styling preferences. If you hair is more on the straight/wavy end of the spectrum, your hair is fine, or you prefer voluminous hair, a foam may work better for you. A lightweight foam won’t weigh down your waves and should also promote more volume. We love using our new va-va volumizing foam for this. Check it out here!

If you find your waves fall too quickly and won’t hold more than a few hours, you may need a hard hold gel. Using a hard hold gel should get you at least a day with your waves before needing a little refresh (if you need help with refreshing, check out our blog post on how to make a refresh spray here).

If you really feel like you need hold, you can also try layering your styling products. Try using a hard hold gel and then when your hair is a little more dry, go over it with a foam.

Plop with a tshirt then diffuse

Plopping with a tshirt can look a bit odd at first, but keeping your hair up over your head for a short period of time can help with wave retention and volume. This will also allow for the tshirt to absorb any excess water or product that could weigh down your hair.

After 10 minutes or so of plopping, diffuse your hair upside down. Hovering the diffuser around your head will maximize definition, while scrunching your hair up with the diffuser will maximize volume. Don’t be concerned if you notice some frizz while doing this. Frizz is normal and natural! And helps tremendously with volume.

If you find you need additional volume at your roots, you can also try root clipping (see our blog post here to learn more ways to create volume).

Scrunch out the crunch

If you find your hair gets crunchy when using a hard hold gel, don’t worry, you can grab a satin scarf (we love using our extra large satin scarf for this. Check it out here!) and scrunch your hair. You should notice the crunch is gone but your hair is left super defined.

There you have it! Wavy hair 101. Got something to add? Drop a comment below!